🍮 Double skin milk
Also known as: shuang pi nai
A Cantonese milk pudding from Shunde (Guangdong): buffalo milk, egg white and sugar; two skins form on top.
Double-skin milk (雙皮奶) is a Cantonese milk pudding from Shunde District in Guangdong Province. Traditionally it is made from buffalo milk, egg white and sugar. The milk is boiled and poured into bowls, and as it cools a first skin forms on top. The milk is then carefully poured out from under the skin, mixed with egg white and sugar, returned under the skin and steamed; as it cools, a second skin forms. Hence the name.
The dessert appeared in the Qing era; legend credits it to a herder nicknamed Granny Dong from Dalian in Shunde, who was looking for a way to keep milk in a hot climate without refrigeration. Buffalo milk is richer than cow’s milk and gives an especially smooth texture; using the milk of swamp buffalo for this dessert is unusual, since they give little milk.
In texture the pudding resembles panna cotta, but unlike it, it is set with egg white rather than gelatin. It is served hot or cold, with red beans, ginger or fruit. It is popular in Shunde, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macau.
How it connects to milk
🍮 Double skin milk → made from → 🥛 Buffalo milk → type of → 🥛 Milk
Links
- Made from
- 🥛 Buffalo milk
- How it is made
- ♨️ Boiling
- Where it is traditional
- 🌍 East Asia
- Which peoples make it
- 🧑🤝🧑 Cantonese
- Product type
- 🏺 Traditional dairy products
- Part of
- 🍦 Dairy desserts
Frequently asked questions
Why is it called double-skin milk?
Two skins form on it: the first as the boiled milk cools, the second after the milk and egg white mixture is returned under the first skin and steamed.
What milk is double-skin milk made with?
Traditionally buffalo milk; today cow’s milk is often used as well.
How is it different from panna cotta?
Panna cotta is set with gelatin, while double-skin milk is set with egg white during steaming.
What to read next
- 🌍 East Asia — China and Japan: rare but ancient dairy traditions — the Bai people's dried rushan cheese, Guangdong's milk pudding, and so at the Japanese court.
- ♨️ Boiling — Home treatment of raw milk.
- 🏺 Traditional dairy products — Products made for centuries to folk recipes: fermenting, cheesemaking, slow baking, drying. Tied to regions and peoples.
Similar
🍨 Kulfi · ⚪ Rasgulla · 🍮 Shrikhand · 🧀 Curd snack · 🍦 Ice cream · 🏯 So (dairy product)
ℹ️ Dairy products contain lactose and milk proteins: if you are lactose intolerant or allergic to milk protein, ask a doctor.